


The Vipers Who Ate the Calla Lily

by aristos_asphodels



Category: Fence (Comics)
Genre: Aiden is a lord, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Attempted Arranged Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Harvard is a prince, M/M, political strife, technically its set in capri universe just in a different empire tht i made up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 03:58:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12975399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aristos_asphodels/pseuds/aristos_asphodels
Summary: Aiden is the son of Lord and Lady Kane, who have devious reasons regarding their wish for their son to gain a political marriage with Prince Harvard, who is heir to a flourishing empire. Falling helplessly in love with his best friend and said prince, Aiden realizes he must try at all costs to keep Harvard from ever wanting to marry him.





	The Vipers Who Ate the Calla Lily

**Author's Note:**

> Hello tis I, the queen of absolutely adoring best friend tropes. I also adore fantasy/kingdom aus so here I am being completely self indulgent with my trashy writing. My brain has quite the adventurous plan for this fic so hopefully it all works out! *crosses fingers* I am very grateful to all the people who comment and like my fics, it always makes my day and gives me the encouragement to keep writing so I truly appreciate it more than anyone knows. Sorry for any typos or just bad writing. I'm no good and this wasn't beta'd. Hopefully you guys like this and will want more! I'm very happy that you're giving it a chance and reading it <<33 So yeah special thanks of course to CS Pacat and Johanna the Mad, they're truly wonderful <3 Enjoy!!!

Across the dark, spanning sea lay the Reaterra Empire. The vastness of the empire was something to respect, with colonies splattered throughout islands and neighboring territories. The immense marble palace through its wide, open windows looked over its prevailing navy that sat along the cerulean coast. Little prince Harvard, son of King Lee and his wife from the Wieland Isles, observed over that ocean with wondrous brown eyes. Wide and curious to the lands across the illimitable waters. 

Hearing his mother call, Harvard looked back into his room from his balcony. His mother wore a lavish royal blue gown, her stomacher laced tightly in the front with gold lacing, and the lace neck kerchief was strung of gold slik as well. The bright gold colors contrasting beautifully with her dark skin. With a loving smile she held out her hand beckoning her young son over and take it. Stepping back into his room, which was mostly white bright marble and decorated with royal blue and gold tapestries, he strided over, careful watching each step as he remembered his lessons on how to hold himself like a proper prince. 

Taking his mother's hand she spoke, "Lord and Lady Kane have traveled from Ennish and will be arriving soon. What's the proper way to greet them?" 

"Outside the palace, with a welcoming face, and a gift for making the effort of traveling," he reiterates, remembering from the lessons his teacher had given him. 

"And your gift, where is that," his mother asks. 

"With my nursemaid Lewis," he replies, gazing across the threshold of the marble flooring as the mother and son strided to the front of the palace where they would greet their guests. He saw the flick of his mother's wrist towards a servant who had been following several steps behind. They would retrieve his nursemaid to wait with them outside and hold the gift for Harvard to give to their son. 

Waiting outside was not a problem for Harvard. He quite enjoyed the feeling of the fresh spring breeze; a crisp salty ocean scent mixing with the budding roses and lavender. The heat of the sun only causing his chest to warm under his royal blue, gold laced waist coat which matched his mother's dress. 

In the distant coming through the castle gates was a white carriage painted with blush accents. Its horses also a pearly color with pink reins. Harvard's eyes went flicking over to the right side of his mother where his father had appeared. He stood tall and proud. The gold of the crown an awe of blazing regality against his dark skin. King Lee gave a miniscule nod towards his son, a soft grin on his face, similar to that of Queen Lee. Harvard returned the nod. 

The guard all around them stood stock still as the carriage arrived at the bottom of the palace steps. The stagecoach walking hastily to open the door for Lord and Lady Kane. In a rush, Lewis appeared out of breath, placing the gifts for the young Lord Aiden quickly into Harvard's arm, then fussing with his clothing to perfect it. After the quick fussing she stood rigid with her head down politefully. Prince Harvard could hear his father letting out a modest chuckle at her feverishness. 

Lord Kane came stepping out, followed by Lady Kane. Both of them dressed immaculate and in the fashions of the Reaterra trends. Lord Kane's eyes went gazing around at the front gardens and exquisite fountains, then his eyes traveled up peering at the grandeur of the castle, smirking to himself as he did so. His wife, Lady Kane, held a display of pure distaste at everything. Her hands wringing her wrists she snubbed at the guard who offered a fan for the heat. 

Looking to his father, countenance appearing puzzled in shock from the amount of discourtesy they were displaying, but his father remained facing forward, watching them with a soft face. Harvard could see in his eyes though that his father had noticed as well. King Lee had taken note of their immediate snobbery. 

Glancing back over to the carriage he saw the couple pulling aggressively at something inside of it. Lady Kane tugged hard and a young boy, who seemed to be of Harvard's own age, stumbled out into the cobblestone. The prince felt his breath hitch at the sight of him. His blond hair in waves, and eyes, which were shadowed by the carriage covering the sun, they still flared a deep blue. 

Leaning down into Prince Harvard's ear Lewis told him, "That's little Lord Aiden. When he comes remember to greet him properly and then give him the gifts." Nodding to her words, he took note to all her fussing, but could not find it into himself to take his eyes off the lovely young lord who was being roughly guided up the steps by his mother. 

Each noble took their place at greeting. Lord and Lady Kane greeting his parents and developing into polite conversations of the 'gloriousness' of their kingdom. Harvard felt the soft push of his back from Lewis to focus on the boy in front of him. Aiden stood in front of the prince pouting, and fidgeting from his too tight laces. He could not greet first by law of customs in greeting the royalty, but Harvard was finding it difficult to think, let alone move. 

Feeling another little push on his back he broke from his trance. Leaning forward Prince Harvard placed a gentle kiss on each of Aiden's cheek. Moving away after, he saw a bright blush on Aiden's face, but the young lord gave a bow while kissing the prince's hand. Harvard felt his own face go hot. 

Staring at each other, each with heated cheeks, Harvard gave Aiden a small basket filled with sweetmeats, dice and other toys, jewelry, and some coins. 

"A gift for being kind enough to make a journey to our Kingdom and be a welcomed guest in our palace," Prince Harvard muttered out as Aiden accepted the basket. His every word practiced and precise. 

Not missing a beat Lord Aiden said "I'm your gift," then received a light smack on the back of his head from Lady Kane. Despite the silent corporeal scolding he giggled. His laugh so sweet Harvard joined in, giggling along at the silly joke. 

Lord and Lady Kane went on exchanging gifts with the King and Queen and talking about this and that again. Prince Harvard glanced over to his parents wondering what to do now that he had done the greeting. Noticing first, Lord Kane said, "We should let the boys run off and play. Aiden let Prince Harvard show you his wonderful home." Harvard didn't like the smile Lord Kane had, but still took young Lord Aiden's hand when his father said that that was a nice idea. 

"Am I to carry this everywhere I go? More of a nuisance than a gift if that's the case," Aiden said when they entered the castle, footsteps echoing against the empty marble. 

"No," Harvard murmured. He knew he should see Lord Aiden's words as an insult, but he had a sly grin playing on his face, and his blue eyes were far too sparkling for Prince Harvard to scold him. "You can give it to a servant," and Aiden did just that. He also told the servant to drop it off in his room which was fine, until he said: 

"And when I get up there I would also like cakes waiting as well. And a hot bath with the bestest oils. If I'm going to be staying in the most greatest kingdom ever in the _entire_ empire then I expect the most greatest ever cakes and the most greatest ever oils." 

The servant was standing stock still in surprise at the gluttony of the six year old Lord, but bowed anyways mumbling that he would have those demands prepared. Prince Harvard was going to admonish Lord Aiden for his behavior when he was halted by Lord Aiden asking, "Where do you play?" 

"Anywhere I wish," Harvard said. 

"Me too. Where do you play most?" 

"in the gardens. Or In my room" 

"I want to play prince and damsel. I'll be the damsel and you be the prince and you have to save me from an the evil dragon, 'Hartnaut,' who wishes to take me for a bride and burn all the villages in the empire!" 

"Oh. Okay, sure." 

"Perfect," Lord Aiden exclaimed, grabbing Harvard's hand again and leading him around the palace. "We can play in the gardens since it's a nice day here. It's not nice in Ennish because it rains and stuff. Then it's muddy. I don't play outside anyways, but it is still gross." They kept wandering around, Aiden not asking any questions about where they were going. "The gardens better be fun. If they're not fun then that means you offering to play there was a dumb idea and I don't wanna' be friends with someone who has dumb ideas about where to play." 

"You've passed the way to the gardens twice now," Harvard said. 

Footsteps faltering as Lord Aiden stopped, eyes observing the expanding halls. The two boys looked seemingly small as they stood in the wide marble halls which were lined with embellished carvings. "Why did you let me get lost," Aiden asked. 

"You got yourself lost. I'm not the one lost," Harvard stated. 

"Well the gardens are probably boring anyways," Aiden huffed, "I would rather not discover that you're boring so let's just play in your room. And don't get us lost again." Believing it to not be a bright idea to argue and point out that Lord Aiden was in fact the only one who was lost, and on his own accord, he decided it would be best to just take him to his room to play. 

Throughout the walk to the prince's room Lord Aiden seemed disinterested in the extravagance of the halls and decorations of large and heavy tapestries. He went skipping about the halls, his small pink heeled boots clacked loud against the floors, echoing off the walls. His grip on Harvard's hand never released as he was lead about (except for when he would start to wander off, hopping down a hall that peaked his curiosity. Harvard would start to get dragged by the boy's enthusiasm and it took much of his effort to pull Lord Aiden back to the proper direction towards his rooms). 

When arriving in Harvard's rooms he walked straight to Harvard's bed claiming it to be the tower he was stuck in, and that Harvard needed to grab a sword or how was he supposed to protect himself from the deadly dragon who was 'right behind him!' And it was strange to Prince Harvard that the little Lord launched the boys into the middle of a game, but Harvard still went into his toy chest grabbing a wooden sword and began fighting the imaginary dragon. Lord Aiden watched for some time. Flinging his body and rolling around, adjusting himself every few minutes as he went on telling the story of how he got kidnapped by the dragon, while simultaneously explaining the actions of the imaginary dragon whose name had changed five times at the least. 

"If you don't move he will eat you," Aiden exclaimed in a fake tone of horror. 

"You said he was over there," Harvard said as he pointed towards a blooming rose bush that sat near his balcony doors. 

The pout Aiden gave was quite the look. Over exaggerated furrowed eyebrows and lips puckered out purposefully far. He sat himself up on Harvard's bed and threw his arms to cross over each other. "If you're not gonna' play right than I don't wanna' play with you," he said. 

"You're bossy," said Harvard. When he said it, it was merely stated as an observation, but Lord Aiden's eyes went wide and tears began to form not even a minute after the comment had been stated. It was not a pleasant sight to see, Lord Aiden crying. His cheeks went puffing out while his lips spread across his face in an open-mouthed frown, as if he were about to cry out. 

"You're mean," the little lord cried out, much to Prince Harvard's surprise and awe. "You're mean like everyone else! I will not stop the dragon from eating _you_ 'cause you don't deserve my help," His words becoming more jumbled as tears went streaming down his face. Prince Harvard could not deny he grew a sudden inquisition to understand why and how Lord Aiden was able to switch emotions so suddenly. 

"Oh, please don't cry" harvard said to try and lull the melodramatic crying. "I didn't mean it." 

"Then why would you say it?" Prince Harvard flinched lightly as Lord Aiden wailed. 

"Well… because I meant it," Harvard said. 

Lord Aiden threw himself backwards in a stagy throw. His blonde waves bouncy against his forehead. Then he began to sob into Harvard's blankets. Staring ahead at the crying boy, Harvard's wooden sword lay limp in his hand. He watched, biting his cheek trying to understand how to stop the boisterous sobbing as guilt started to eat away at him. An idea struck. 

"There's no need to cry, _oh lovely prince_ ," Harvard said. After several seconds the crying halted. "I, a humble knight, have come to save you from the evil dragon Hetterford" (the last name Aiden had come up with for the dragon). At his proclamation, he noticed Lord Aiden's head tilt up from the blankets towards the Prince, his blue eyes peeking through his bangs. "But I must need your help to see, oh lovely prince," Harvard said, continuing on dramatically; mimicking the tones of dramatic play actors. "I have become blinded through a… a…" 

"Witch's curse," Lord Aiden murmured. Sitting up slowly and wiping his face as he did so. 

"Yeah that," Prince Harvard said. "So please help me and tell me where the dragon is so I may slay him and save you." 

A beaming grin instantly displayed on his face. He began speaking wildly; telling fabulous descriptions of what the dragon looked like, where he was going, and how Harvard should be fighting him. Prince Harvard listened to each direction that was given. A taciturn, giggling Aiden was much better than a sniveling one. And his visionary stories were told well enough. They played for some time. Eventually Prince Harvard had slain the dragon and saved Aiden from the tower. Harvard pulled Aiden down from the bed, pretending he was freeing him from a locked tower. 

"Now you kiss me," Lord Aiden said. 

Blushing, "I don't…" the little prince began, but the determined blue eyes started to break into something akin to dejection. Wanting to save his ears from more crying and his chest from tightening in remorse, he gave a quick peck to Lord Aiden's lips. The young lord's ears tinted pink along with his cheeks flushing. Harvard thought he might begin another fit, but Lord Aiden only gave a toothy grin. 

Pleased by getting his way, Lord Aiden began rambling about how Harvard would need to go on an "utmost special quest" to gain his eyesight back. Taking some white silk linens set in a basket near the bed, he ripped harshly, cloth tearing loudly. Prince Harvard let out a shocked gasp and was going to reprimand the young lord for being so destructive, but when Lord Aiden walked over with down turned eyes murmuring, "For your eyes," Harvard didn't feel the need to get angry. He hadn't done it to be rude, he just wanted their playing to be more realistic. 

Lord Aiden went to tying the cloth around Prince Harvard's, sticking out and biting down on his tongue as he binded knots creating a blindfold. Harvard could see some through the sheerness of the white silk, but his view was still slightly obstructed and he thought it wouldn't be fair for Lord Aiden to go through all the trouble of tying only for him to peek. So he kept his eyes closed. 

"Onwards to the evil witch who cursed you! We must make sure she pays," Aiden said. The came a soft whisper, "Where else can we play?" 

"This entire area if you want. These are my apartments, but I'm allowed to play where I wish," Harvard said. 

"Where do the other kids play," Aiden asked shyly. 

"The garden," Harvard said with a shrug. "Or my apartments if I want." He felt fingers entwine with his own, gripping hard and tugging him out guiding him along somewhere. 

"We'll stay here. I don't want to play with the other dumb children," Lord Aiden said. 

"They're not dumb. They're my friends," Prince Harvard defended. 

Lord Aiden gave a little snort, "That doesn't mean they're not dumb, silly." It was said teasingly, but had the tone of fact, "All your friends must be dumb." 

"So you're dumb?" 

The meaning behind the question must have caught the young lord off guard. His skipping had halted and Harvard heard the Lord draw his breath in sharply. They stood for several seconds before Lord Aiden aggressively jerked his hand out of Prince Harvard's. A gasp from several feet away could be heard and Harvard realised they must be in the hallways of his apartments; servants went unheard as they walked about with no shoes and trained to move silently. To act such a manner, especially towards the Prince, was considered highly inappropriate. No matter the age. Children of high social standing were expected to act proper. Petulant children were not highly regarded among higher social standings. 

"I didn't mean you were actually dumb," Harvard said, eyes still closed behind the blindfold. 

"You… consider me your friend?" Lord Aiden's voice was that of a whisper. Hitching at the end of each word, and his feet shuffled across the floor towards the prince. Leaning forward Aiden's face was only a few inches from Harvard's, head cocking slightly. His small hands went up hovering over the makeshift blindfold. 

"Yes," Harvard said. Feeling fingers graze against his cheekbones he jerked only a little. The blindfold was drawn up and sat on his eyebrows. Large deep blue eyes sparkling in the mid-morning sun. Erupting onto Lord Aiden's face was a toothy smile -his cheeks puffy up from his slight baby fat- and Prince Harvard was yanked into a tenacious hug. The grip the little lord had around the prince was so tight he couldn't move his upper arms. 

"I've never had a friend before," Lord Aiden said, gushing. Harvard immediately felt lousy. He didn't actually mean it. He went around calling everyone his friend because kids you played with were what people typically called friends. But he couldn't imagine constantly playing with Lord Aiden, who was much too exuberant and over-emotional than Harvard. Than anyone really. Unsure of what to do, Harvard allowed himself to be hugged. The hugging continued… for quite some time. Finally pulling away from the prince Lord Aiden fixed his eyes on the ground as he kicked his small boots at the ground, murmuring, "we can play in the gardens if you'd like. I know you like the gardens." 

"Okay," Harvard said. Surprised that Aiden actually remembered. 

Capturing Prince Harvard's hand Lord Aiden rushed them through the Prince's apartment hallways. Tripping over his own feet, the lord and prince continually stumbled into each other. It was annoying at first till the second time Lord Aiden let out a shriek of laughter; the sound so bright Harvard feared the sun would be jealous. Once out of the prince's halls, the little lord's cheeks tinged pink asking Harvard to lead the way. He thought about removing his hand from the lord's, but Lord Aiden gave a quick burst of laughter for no apparent reason. He allowed their hands to stay together as he led them towards the palace gardens. 

*** 

The nursemaid Lewis came following in after Prince Harvard into his room while carrying a listless Lord Aiden in her arms. His mouth open slightly, as he breathed in ease, slowly falling into a deeper sleep. The room itself was dark, only lightened by the moonlight shining through the glass balcony doors. The nursemaid and prince went tiptoeing through the room to the expansive bed. Before placing the lord down on the bed Lewis asked in a whisper: 

"Are you sure you want him to sleep with you, your highness? His rooms are prepared quite lovely for him." 

"I want him here. He'll get lost in the morning trying to look for me," Harvard said softly. Lord Aiden and his family had been in the castle for nearly a fortnight. For the first week, every night after dinner, Lord Aiden would fall asleep on Harvard in the gardens after the sun went down and the lamps were lit, illuminating an orange glow. In the mornings he would set off looking for Harvard's rooms, too prideful to ask for help he would find himself completely astray, whimpering and refusing aid till someone retrieved Prince Harvard to find him. So every morning Harvard would be woken by some servant or nursemaid, dressed up in the finest cloths and laces, and would be guided over to Lord Aiden whose face enlivened at the sight of the prince. 

"If you're sure, your highness," Lead said as she laid Lord Aiden down gently onto the bed. Untying the laces on the lord's outer jacket she finished and went to fetch a sleepshirt only to jolt when Harvard came up suddenly behind her, holding out one of his own white sleepshirts. Bowing deeply in thanks she accepted it and began to remove the rest of the sleeping lord's clothes. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Prince Harvard undressing and beginning to change as well. When she offered for him to wait and she could do it, he refused politely, telling her to just get Lord Aiden ready for sleep. Shrugging nonchalantly she did just that. Once Lord Aiden was dressed in the simple nightshirt, Lewis expertly tucked him under the covers without causing him to stir awake. She began to fold up his clothes and head over to the fireplace, where she threw wood in and lit it up, encasing the room in an illumination of tangerine warmth. 

Climbing into bed, dressed the same as Lord Aiden, he tucked himself in next to his friend. He had become accustomed to the idea of the Lord being his companion. In fact in their short couple of weeks together he found Lord Aiden's emotional exuberancy to be adventurous, on top of his constant stories which they acted out. They never grew bored when with each other and the few times Prince Harvard played with the other children and without Lord Aiden, he was shocked to find himself softly sulking in boredom. No one seemed to have the same audacious spirit as the boy who was now sleeping peacefully beside the prince. 

Offering, Lewis asked if the prince needed anything else, but Harvard in a hushed tone he said, "No, thank you," and she bowed deeply, closing the doors quietly as she left the two boys to sleep in private. Just as the prince went to lay his head down on the silk pillows Lord Aiden awoke gently, rubbing at his eyes and murmuring something unintelligible. His eyes went blinking about the room, but even as the seconds past they remained heavy with sleep as he continually rubbed them. Prince Harvard watched him thoughtfully, he did very much want to sleep. 

"I'm sleeping over," Aiden said. The prince nodded a bit and Lord Aiden mimicked the movement. "I can't sleep without my teddy bear," he said in a whine. 

Pushing back the covers carefully Prince Harvard got up from the bed, "I have one you can borrow." Hobbling over to the toy chest he looked back at the little lord, who had the fur blankets pulled up to his face, eyes wide in desperation. Being so young he had yet to kick his fear of the dark and his wild imagination did not help either. Often he would adamantly describe during their morning breakfasts together the lurking shadows and evil trolls that came to visit him in the night. He would clutch his teddy bear closely in fear till his eyes burned with sleep and he fell asleep. Pulling the the lid open on his large toy chest which sat at the end of his bed, he took out his favorite teddy bear that was a gift from his parents on his fourth birthday. He kept it in the chest for safekeeping. 

"Lewis does white magic," Harvard said as he walked back over to his bed. He decided a small lie wouldn't hurt if it would help his friend sleep easier. 

"Really," Lord Aiden said with wonderstruck eyes. 

Nodding, "And she casted a spell on my teddy bear. She made it so that anyone who held it was protected from anything dangerous or scary." He handed the bear to Lord Aiden as he got back underneath the covers. The little lord eagerly grasped it, holding it firm against his chest. He had a gut feeling that the young lord would keep it just as safe as the chest did. "You can keep it. To protect you." 

Gasping Lord Aiden said, "But if I take it you could be eaten by trolls or- or stolen by an evil witch!" 

"Well," Prince Harvard said, drawing out his 'L's' in thought trying to figure out how to outsmart Lord Aiden's fears and fantasies. "Just sleep with me then until I get another bear from Lewis. That way we both can be safe." 

The answer seemed to be satisfactory for the little lord because he gave a dopey grin and plopped his body back down against his pillow, snuggling the bear tightly. When the prince did the same, Lord Aiden with closed eyes kicked his legs a bit to scoot up closer to Harvard. The two sunk into a deep sleep, nestled together under the blankets as the fire kindled, and died through the night. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhhhhhh love those two they are absolutely the cutest most sweetest boys on the planet. Can't wait for them to get angsty both in this fic and in Fence. Love when Pacat rips my heart out and then puts it back together again, really keeps me on my toes. I'm gonna try to update this as frequent as possible (as well as update my capri fic ooooops sjkdfksk) but I'm very excited for this bc Aiden's parents got some devious plans up there sleeves. Anywho, thank you for reading and I hope ur maybe a bit?? excited to read more?? I appreciate y'all soooooo much <<33  
> hmu on twitter: @heirofkingsmeet or tumblr: @meet-me-at-kingsmeet (still can't do links, still very tech challenged) anytime!! I don't bite i promise <<<<<333333


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